Michał Maciejny is a Jesuit who is preparing to be ordained. The monk has also been an active web developer for some time. He regularly posts on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and shoots longer videos for YouTube. The most popular recordings of Brother Michał are: a material about a holy mass recorded in a Rolbox and a film in which he explains what a priest in love does with his feelings.
Brother Maciej will soon become a priest. He uses computer games to preach the gospel
Maciejny raises not only the topics of faith and scripture on his channel. He also tries to refer to pop culture and make spiritual knowledge a bit more universal and understandable for people functioning in the reality we know. Brother Michał refers to the Star Wars universe, mentions the Friza Team, and also admits that he is passionate about computer games.
As we know, people associated with the Church are skeptical about books that contain the theme of magic, music containing dark symbolism or games that are based on virtual violence. In an interview with Karol Laska for gry-online.pl, Michał Maciejny talked about how he meets the expectations of the community, while not giving up his passion.
The monk admitted that he most willingly plays simulators, he also explained that believers can find God in unexpected places for non-believers.
I seek and find God in everything – also in everyday life and in the fields of culture. And video games are such an everyday thing, I can look for excitement in them, they can touch me. Besides, you know what they look like. It’s no longer Mario Bros. where you jump from the left to the right edge of the screen. There is usually a thought and a story behind them, it is a full-fledged branch of culture, says Maciejny.
The priest admits that he has not met the official position of the Church on computer games, but the network is full of private opinions of priests, which are not clear with the rules that apply to everyone. One of the people who attributed the bad influence on children to this form of entertainment was Fr. Natanek, who spoke unflatteringly in his sermons, for example about Diablo, where demons are killed.
Brother Michael has a slightly different approach to the subject.
A similar question was asked to one of my fellows a long time ago. He answered them very nicely: “Kicking a demon, even in Diablo, is pure pleasure,” he says.
He also admits that he liked the series “Lucifer”, because he could draw from it a different, pop-cultural perspective of presenting a character completely differently depicted by the Church. However, in computer games it happens that we not only passively observe demons, but sometimes we become them ourselves, turning them into gangsters, murderers and psychopaths.
Brother Michał answers whether you have to confess to killing in GTA
The monk reassures that we do not have to confess to killing in games such as GTA, because “we operate in the realm of fiction”. However, it is important to know what the player is guided by when participating in a given action.
So what counts is looking at one’s own interior, what the given action leads me to, whether it harms me in any way. If running over people in GTA translates into everyday relationships, because it turns out that some archetypes translate to me, then it’s not good. But it’s not a question of whether a game can be called good or bad, but an individual approach to it, explains the Jesuit.
Brother Michael not only plays games himself, but also talks about how to use them in the process of evangelism. As it turns out, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey can be referenced in New Testament classes. He also admits that when talking to young people it is much easier to start with their interests, leaving spiritual matters for later.
It also happened to me in my life that my knowledge of gaming was useful in talking to people. I understand people who live games, CS, streamers, etc. It was an icebreaker for the other side. The story was that the parents told the boy to talk to the priest, it was me. He was not positive about talking to me, so we just started with the topic of games, streamers – it was a starting point for further conversation – explains Maciejny
The Jesuit remarks in the conversation that there are no anti-Christian game titles, and none of them are per se dangerous for believers. However, Brother Michał points out that everyone should observe their reactions related to contact with each medium and eliminate it from life in time if it turns out to be somehow dysfunctional.
We need to consider before a given game whether it is deeply addictive for me, or whether it brings confusion into my life because I sit x hours in front of the computer. If I’m neglecting my responsibilities, family, friends, daily or spiritual life because of the game, then I don’t think it’s a good game for me.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
